Convertible furniture



J- R. THOMAS CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE May 8, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 23, 1954 93 m w w mm INVENTOR: JOSEPH R. THOMAS mama ATT'Y y 1956J. R. THOMAS CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 23, 1954INVENTOR: JOSEPH R. THOMAS Mai May 8, 1956 J. R. THOMAS 2,744,265

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed July 25, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR:JOSEPH F. THOMAS ATT'Y United States Patent CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE JosephR. Thomas, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 23, 1954, Serial No. 445,299

17 Claims. (Cl. -13) This invention relates in general to convertiblefurniture and is more particularly described as a chair or davenport bedin which a plurality of foldably connected sections are movable from aposition below and behind the seat to an aligned position extendingoutwardly from the seat frame.

In extending and returning the connected sections, they must befoldedcompactly in a certain predetermined manner and mounted to swingthrough a restricted space between a fixed back rest and a fixed frontboard. In the folding and unfolding movement within the frame, it ismost convenient to retain the connected sections in a folded position asthey swing into and out of the frame and the present invention relatesparticularly to a catch for engaging the folded sections either to beadvanced continuously in one direction, or to be prevented from abackward movement once the sections are started in va folding orunfolding position or to be stopped at an intermediate position in boththe folding and unfolding operations.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide stop meansfor arresting the movement of the connected sections so that thecomplete movement may be interrupted or made in stages which are moreconvenient in the folding and unfolding movements of the sections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a releasable catch bymeans of which the movement in stages may be readily effected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a roller at the top andinner side of the fixed front board for assisting the folded sections inpassing over the top of the front board if they are improperly mountedin the frame, or if they tend to sag due to looseness of the joints oran unduely heavy enclosure of a mattress and bed clothes between thefolded section.

A still further object of the invention is to mount the sections forswinging movement upon axes which are above the normal level of the seatso that the connected bed sections are swung highly within the frame inthe initial movement of the seat section when it is intended to form abed and in the last movement from the bed position when returning thesections to form a seat.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and willbe apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a plurality of connectedsections in their folded position within a seat frame to form a chair ordavenport in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the sections of Fig. 1 in an initialposition which they assume when the seat section is inverted rearwardlyin the operation of changing the structure to form a bed or preliminaryto the return of the folded sections to the seat frame from the bedposition.-- r

ice

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in theextended or bed position.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an enlarged detail of theconnections between the intermediate and seat section in the positionshown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing the connections between theintermediate and outer section in the position shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a latch in connection with one ofthe mounting links for holding the sections in the position shown byFig. 2.

Fig. 7 is aperspeetive view of a portion of the seat section having amovable member to engage the latch shown in Fig. 6. V

Fig. 8 is a view combining some of the details in Figs. 6 and 7 to showengagement of the member with the latch.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 6 showing a double latchfor arresting the movement of the con-.

nected sections as shown in Fig. 2 in both directions of movement; and

Fig. l0'is a perspective view similar to Figs. 6 and 9 showing a latchfor reverse engagement only of the folded and connected sections asshown in Fig. 2.

In the folding and unfolding movement of convertible furniture, it issometimes possible to grasp a rail or a handle'below the seat and tomanually raise and move it outwardly from the frame in changing thestructure from a davenport-to a bed, in one continuous movement.Incollapsing the furniture, this movement is reversed. For persons whoare unfamiliar with the folding and unfolding movements, it is ratherditficult for them to effect these movements until they have practicedor become accustomed to such operations.

in the present invention, it is difficult to produce a single continuousmovement of the connected sections for the added reasons that instead ofthe seat section pulling outwardly at the front of the other sections,the seat section in the present invention is mounted to overturnrearwardly within the frame so that the inverted seat section becomesthe innermost section of the bed, the intermediate section which isdisposed in vertical position behind and below the seat is moved infront of the seat section, and the section which is at the bottom of theframe is swung outwardly in front of the intermediate section andbecomes the outermost section of the bed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a seat frame 12 ofconventional type is represented as having side arms 14 (only one shown)connected at their rear by a back board 16 and connected at their frontlower edges by a fixed upwardly extending front board 18. Extendingdownwardly at the rear of the frames is a fixed and usually upholsteredback rest 2-0. The space between the lower edge of the back rest 20 andthe upper and inner edge of the front board 18 is of fixed and limiteddimensions in which the connected bed sections must be moved in changingthe furniture from a seat to a bed.

The folding bed comprises a seat section 22, an intermediate section 24,and an outer section 26. These sections are commonly formed of angle barside rails con nected and reinforced for receiving a metal bed fabric inthe intermediate and outer section and preferably of the front board 18in closed position if desired. At the rear of the seat section (in seatposition) is a metal bracket 34 riveted thereto in fixed position forsupporting an angle bar 36 (see Figs. 3 and 7) bent at right angles andextending across the bed section to the other side thereof to provide. aspacing and strengthening support for the. rear side of the bed section.

Attached to the inwardly extending, web of the angle.

bar 36 adjacent the. side bar of the, section 22 is areverse angle barsection 38 which, forms a rigid support for connecting the seatsectionto the intermediate section by a pair of members, one a lever 40 and.the other a link 42. The link 42 is directly pivoted at one end to theadjacent end of the side bar. of the intermediate section.

24 and at its other end to. the outer, end of. the. angle bar 38. Oneend of the lever 40 is. connected by a pivot 44 with the angle bar 38andat its. other end, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, it is connected by apivot 46 with the side bar of the intermediate section 24 at a shortdistance from the end to which. the link 42 is pivoted. Thus. the lever40 and the link 42 form a double pivoting. and hinging connectionbetween the seat. and intermediate sections.

A supporting leg 48 is. pivoted at each side. of. the

intermediate section 24 adjacent the end nearest. the seat.

section and a leg 50 is pivotally' connected at each; side of the outersection 26 at a distance fromthe. joint between the intermediate andouter sections. These legs are pivoted to fold flatly against thesections to which they are connected.

Between the intermediate and outer sections is, a. connecting plate 52fixed to the inner end of. the.

outer section by rivets 54 and having a. pivot 56for engaging theadjacent end of the intermediate section. 24. so that they may swingapart at right angles to each other. A portion of the plate 52 extendsbelow the. sections and provides a pivot 58 for one. end of a lever. 60which is connected to the lever, 40 at a short distance from its pivotalconnection with the. intermediate, section by a pivot 62. A short legoperating link. 64 is con.- nected at one end to the upper portion of,the leg 48 and at the. other end of thelever 60. A link 66. is connectednear the upper end of each outer leg 50 by. a pivot 68 and the other endof this link is. connected; by: a pivot 70 with the lever. 60 at, adistance. from its pivot 58 by which it is connected to the pivotingplate. 52. Withthis constructioma movement of the intermediate and outersections from a position at right anglesv to each other as shown in.Fig. 1 in which the. legs. are folded substantially against thesections, the. legs arev automatically extended because of theconnection of the levers 40, 60 and the link 66 so. that when the. bedsec:- tions are extended, they will assume a substantially right angledand supporting position as shown in Fig. 3.

The connected bed sections may be completely assembled before they areapplied to a supporting frame 12 or they may be partially assembled andconnected in the frame and then the parts connected together. onlymounting for the connected sections is between the seat section 22 andthe sides of the frame 12 and comprises a strap 72 attached at eachinner side. of the. sup.- porting frame and extending from the lowerside of the frame at a distance from the front to a location behind andslightly above the lower end of the. fixed. back rest' 20. Mounted upona pivot 74 at. the upper end. of the mounting strap 72 is a lever 76preferably in the form of a bell crank having its other end connectedbya pivot 78 with an angle bar 80 secured to the side frame of the seatsection 22. Theangle of the bell crank lever 76 is located at such apoint that it will extend around the lower edge of the fixed back rest28' in a raised position of the seat section and the connected sectionsas shown in Fig. 2. At the other end of the mounting strap 72 is a pivot82 which is connected to one end of another The.

mounting lever 84" which has a pivot 86' at its other end connected tothe extremity of a fixed support 88 which extends slightly above theseat fabric 30 in the seat position as shown in Fig. 1 and slightlybehind the lower end of the fixed back 20 in the seat position. Thefixed support 88 may be secured to the angle bar attached to the seatsection 22 or may be an extension of it.

Thus it will be noted that both of the pivots 78 and 86 upon which theseat. section is inverted are located above the upper level of the seatfabric. The result of this construction is to throw the connected seatsections high in the frame as shown in Fig. 2 when the. seat section towhich they are connected is overturned rearwardly. To balance andcounter-balance the movement of the seat sections by means of the levers76 and 84, a coil spring 9'3 may be connected at one end to the lever 76near its pivot 74 and over the other end to a bracket 92 fixed to thelower side of the seat frame 12, and a coil spring 94 may be. connectedat one end to the lever 84 near itspivot: 82 and the other end may beconnected toa. fixed point 96.- on the side arm above the top, of thefront board 18 and inwardly from the front edge of the side arm. Thebracket 92 also acts as a stop. for the lever 84 in the foldedpositionas shown in Fig. 1.

In. the position shown by Fig. 2, spacing of the connected sections. in.their right angle position with the intermediate section spaced from theseat section and the outer section also spaced from the seat section isassured by the outer leg 50 which through its link 66 looks the sections22, 24 and 26 in this position. A projection 98 at the outer end ofsection 26 extends at right angles to the section and limits themovement of the outer section 26 toward the seat section at its underside. in. this locked, position as shown in Fig. 2, the folded sections.are substantially balanced, the tendency of the combined springs and 94being to swing. the sections slightly inward.

In order to prevent the folded sections from swinging inwardly, and to.hold them in raised or intermediate position as shownin Fig. 2, a. latch100 is pivoted. at the angular corner of theangle bar 36 as shown moreclearly in. Figs. 7 and 8, by. means of a pivot 102. extending throughthe inwardly extending web of the angle bar closeto. the. cornerthereof. This latch. is preferably of fiat sheet. metal having a bentportion; 104 at the end opposite the pivot and with a straight portion106 adjacent the bent portion. In the. straight portion is; aperioration108' to receive one. end of a coil spring 110, the. other end of.whichis attached to a perforation 112 in the inwardly extending web. of theangle bar 36. The spring: tends to. pull the latch from an outwardposition shown in broken outline to aninner position in which theextremity of the bentportion 104 which is adjacent thestraight portion106. abuts theouter side of the angle bar 36 as shown more clearly in;Fig. 8.

Attached to one of the side mounting levers 84 is a detent 114- havingan inclined edge 116 forming a shoulder 118.and connected. to the leverby rivets 120 or any other suitable manner. in the path of a lower tailend 122 of the latch. 110. The connection of the. detent. is at an angleto engage the. tail end 122. of the latch when. the folded sections areswung upwardly into the position shown by Fig. 2, the tail end of thelatch engaging and riding up on the angular surface 116 and swinging.the latch untilthe shoulder 118 is reached whereupon the latch is pulledin engagement with the shoulder of the detent by the spring as shownmore clearly in Fig. 8. In this position, the springs 90 and 94 may beadjusted to; hold the, folded. sections together and against theshoulder. of,thedetent-whereuponthe folded sections may beheld withralight spring tension in the position shown by. Fig. 2 and againstoutward movement.

At this. time, the operator. of. the, bed. davenport. is;

ready to grasp the upper end of the outermost bed Sec.-

tion andto swing it outwardly and forwardlyunfolding the sections inaccordance with the connections between the sections and automaticallyextending the legs to a supporting position when the sections areextended in alignment as shown in Fig. 3. Before he canelfect thereturnmovement, he must release the latch 100 from engagement with theshoulder which he does by inserting his hand between the side arm 14 andthe bed sections which are in the position shown in Fig. 2 until hereaches the latch 100 and presses it downwardly so that the, tail end122 of the latch is rocked out of the path of the shoulder 118,whereupon the folded sections may be rocked downwardly and under theseat section into the frame, as described.

Instead of the detent having a single inclined surface as shown in Fig.6, a detent 124 as in Fig. 9 may be se cured to the lever 84 having twoinclined surfaces 126 and 128 extending upwardly from oppositedirections and terminating at their center in a notch 130. This detentprovides means for engaging the folded sections in both directions ofmovement when they reach the approximate position as shown in Fig. 2 sothat it is necessary to manually release the latch 100 for continuingthe movement of the folded sections in either direction from thisposition.

Similarly, if desirable, a detent 132, as in Fig. 10, may be providedattachable as before to the lever 84 having an inclined surface 134extending from the outer end inwardly and opposite to the inclination ofthe detent 114, and having an inner shoulder 136 to engage the latch100, if the tendency of the spring mounting means is to swing the foldedsections outwardly in the position shown in Fig. 2. The shoulder 136 ofthe detent 134 may be engaged in the particular movement of the foldedbed sections to the approximate positions of Fig. 2 and to swing itoutwardly therefrom, the latch must be manually engaged to raise it overthe shouldered end of thedetent. .Upon the return movement in manuallysa nt swinging the sections inwardly from the bed position,

the latch 100 will engage the inclined surface 134 until the shoulder isreached and this will hold the sections from swinging outwardlywhereupon the folded sections may then be continued in their movementwithin the frame and into folded or seat position. a

With all of these constructions, the folded sections 7 within the frameare raised from the front of the frame and swung upwardly to anintermediate position and then it is necessary to substantially reversethe direction of movement to move the sections outwardly into extendedor bed position. Likewise, in the reverse operation, the extendedsections are raised at the outer end and are swung upwardly and inwardlytoward the frame untilthey assume the folded position as shown by Fig.2. At this'point,.it is necessary to substantially reverse the movementof the sections and to swing them outward- 1y, downwardly and inwardlyinto the frame below the fixed back 20 and over the top of the fixedfront board 18.

When the folded sections are housed within the frame, an angle bracket138 is secured to-the inside lower edge of each side arm 14 which has aninward extension 140 to engage below the outer section'26 or its legwhich is folded against it in this position. The bed or chair framesarecommonly supported upon casters or short legs which elevate thebottom of the frame from the floor or other surface upon which the frameis supported so that some of the parts may extend slightly below theframe as shown in Fig. l.

To prevent engagement of any of the connected sections with the top ofthe fixed front board18, a roller 142 is supported at the top oftheinner edge thereof by a bracket 144 in such a position that it willnot obstruct the front rail 32 attached to the seat section and will actas a. guide forholding the front of the seat section in place. From theposition of the folded sections in Fig.

2, it is appafent that the parts of the folding sections when swungupwardly to this folded position are swung clear ofengagement with thetop of thefront board and also clear from engagement with the rollers142, but in swinging outwardly therefrom, if the folded sections arefilled with bed clothes, these may tend to bulge outwardly and if theconnections between the sections happen to be slightly loose, some ofthe section parts may tend to move downwardly and might otherwise scrapethe top of the fixed front board 18 if this precaution is not taken.

Since the back rest 20 extends forwardly and downwardly from the back ofthe frame, and the fixed front board extends upwardly at the front ofthe frame, there is a limited distance between these parts between whichthe folding sections must move. The seat section is supported at thefront in seat position by the engagement of the seat section front rail32 and the fixed front rail 18 of the frame and the disposition of themounting levers which support the seat section upon the pivots 78 and 86is such that the rigid support formed by the angle bar section 38 in itsupward or seat position is behind the lower end of the fixed back rest20, and in fact extends considerably above the lower end of the backrest. This construction and mounting makes it tion 26 which areconnected together and to the seat section. by means of the lever 4t)and the link 42 must likewise be moved initially in the same reversedirection with the seat section. The movement together of the seatsection and the outer section is limited .by the projection (orprojections) 98 and the sections may be locked in this folded positionby the movement of the outer leg (or legs 50) beyond the center lineconnecting it to the lever 60 as defined by their pivots 58 and 70. Inthis folded position, the outer and seat sections substantially form theouter length of a hollow L, the lower or shorter end of which is formedby the intermediate section, the fixed supporting angle bar 36 and theconnecting lever and link 40 and .42.

In operation, the folded sections are thus mounted for rearwardlyoverturning movement in a counter-clockwise position as shown in Fig. 2,until they reach the substantially balanced condition. In the firststage of operation and if desired, a releasable detent may be providednormally restraining the folded sections from continued movement in onedirection or the other so that in the next stage of the operation ofunfolding the sections and extending the bed, the outer section or thelegs 50 of the outer section may be grasped and pulled reversely to theoriginal movement or outwardly from the frame, the manual pulling on theoutermost section thus releasing the locking action of the legs 50 orthe legs being positively released by pulling outwardly upon them. Thisoutward movement is then continued, the weight of the sections whenunfolding being sufficient to overcome any tendency of the springs and194 to return the structure within the frame.

In folding the structure from the extended or bed position, the aboveoperation is substantially reversed; the outer end ofthe outer bedsection 26 is manually raised which breaks the locking connection forthe legs between the shorter end-foffthe- L,first-into the frame belowand behindthe lowerend of the-back rest 20and at the, same.

time swinging the seat section andthe outer section together inwardlyabove the top of the fixed front board 18' until thesetwo sectionsaresubstantially parallel with the bottom of'the frame and the shortendof'the L is in its folded position above and behind the lower end ofthe fixed back rest.

To return the folded structure from the intermediate stage, it may benecessary to release the detent before the reverse returning movement ofthe folded frat ics can be effected.

The seat section and the connected sections are thus mounted for jointoverturning movement upon the mounting members as 76 and S4 and theconnected sections 24 and 26 are guided in their movements by links andlevers which connect them for positive and predetermined movementsbut'in their folding and unfolding operations so that the relativemovements of the sectionsare entirely automatic and predetermined, nomanual adjustment or ditfercntoperation being possible once the sectionsare set up and properly connected within a frame. he only connectionwith the folding sections and the frame is through the mounting members76 and 84 and they in bination and arrangement of parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

lclaim:

1. In convertible furniture having a frame with a fixed back restextending downwardly and forwardly from the back to provide a spacebehind and below the lower end ofthe back rest and a fixed front boardextending upwardly at the front of the frame providing a limited spacein the frame between the lower end of the back rest and the top of thefront board, a plurality of connected seat and bed sections foldableinto a hollow angular structure extending below the seat section andupwardly at the rear of the frame below and behind the lower end of theback rest, means mounting the seat section for swinging it and the othersections upwardly together to a predetermined set position to clear thetop of the fixed front boardand to swing the portions from behind andbelow the back restto a position infront ofthe back rest but free fromcontact with the front board, andmeans connecting the sections forswinging them oppositely outward from the said predetermined position toseparate the sections to extend them into alignment and to overturn theseat within the frame.

2. Convertible furniture in accordance with claim l, having stop meansconnected to the seat section and one of the said mounting means forreleasably holding the folded seat sections in the predetermined setposition.

3'. Convertible furniture in accordance with claim in which the stopmeans comprises a detent on one of the mounting means and a latchprojecting from the seat section-and engaging the detent when theseat'and connected sections are rotated to the predetermined setposition before the sections can be swung oppositely.

4. Convertible furniture in accordance with claim 2, in which the meansconnecting the sections comprises links andlevers for lockingthesections together in the predetermined,setposition so that the connectedsections may be retainedin this position in swinging into and out of theframe ,inthesaid, restricted space between the back restandthe fixedfront board.

5. Convertible furniture. inaccordance with claim 3;

in which the detent has an inclined contact surface and. the latch; ispivoted and-j spring pressed" to engage the. detent in one direction ofmovement, andthe latchmust be manually rcleased'to continue the movementof'th'e sections.

6. in convertible furniture in accordance with claim 3, spring meansconnected between the mounting means and the frame for counter-balancingthe seat and connected'sections .in their movement to and from thepredeterminedset position, the springmeans having a ten dent; in the setposition to further invert the folded sections and the latch opposingsaidfurther inverting movement, thelatch being manually releasable fromthe detent before the sections are released for and extending movementforwardly and oppositely from the set position.

7. Convertible furniture in accordance with claim 6, in which the springmeans tends to swing the folded sections outwardly in opposition totheir direction of swinging movement in the frame and'the detent forengaging the latch being disposed to engage and restrainthe foldedsections from movement in the outward unfolding direction until thelatch is manually released.

8. Convertible furniture in accordance with claim 6, in which the detenthas two portions inclinedoppositely from the center and a notch in thecenter for engaging the latch which projects from the seat section inboth directions of movement of the connected sections in folding andunfolding at the said predetermined set position so that the latch mustbe manually disengaged from the detent before the folded sections can bemoved in either direction from the said set position.

9. in convertible furniture, the combination with a frame having sidearms, a back rest extending from the top downwardly between the arms anda fixed front board extending upwardly at the front of the frame betweenthe two side arms, of a foldable bedbottom comprising connected seat,intermediate and outer sections adapted to be extended from a foldedseat position within the frame to a bed position with the sections inalignment within and extending in front of the frame, the sections whenfolded within the frame being of a height to pass into and out of theframe between the lower end of the back restand the top of the frontboard and sumcient to form a seat support with the outer section belowthe seat and the intermediate section extending upwardly at the baclt ofthe frame behind and below the lower end of the back rest, and the seatand outer sections being of a length longer than the distancebetween thelower end of the back of the seat and the top of the front board, meansincluding a pair of members connected to the inside of each arm rest andto the side of the bed section for inverting the scat section rearwardlyin the frame when it is raised at the front thereof, and to swing thefront upwardly and the intermediate section forwardly below the lowerend of the back rest and above the front board in one direction ofmovement, spring meansto balance and assist theoverturning movement ofthe folded sections to the said'raised position. stop means connected tothe seat section and one of the mounting members for releasably holdingthe folded seat sections in the predetermined set position and a lockingleg structure connected to the intermediate and outer sections forholding themreleasably. in the folded position and for automaticallycontrolling the folding and unfolding movement of the legs and the saidsections, the locking leg structure being unlocked when the said outersection is manually moved outwardly in a direction opposite to the saidswinging movement for extending the sections into alignment with theseat section inverted withintheframe and to form a bed. 1

10. In convertible furniture in accordance with claim 9, the seatsection having-a front rail in seat position which forms an'extension'of the fixed frontboarcl and the; front boardhavingrollermeans at therear side thereof and projecting-above the top. to engage and guide thefront rail of the seat in alignment with the fixed front board in thefolding movement of the seat and other sections within the frame.

11. In convertible furniture, the combination with a seat frame having aback rest extending downwardly and forwardly to the rear of a seatposition within the frame, a fixed front board extending upwardly at thefront of the frame, the space between the bottom of the back rest andthe top of the front board being limited to the depth of the seat in theframe, of a sectional folding seat and bed bottom comprising connectedsections foldable into a compact structure which is longer than thespace between the lower edge of the back rest and the top of the frontboard and having a height in the frame less than the said distancebetween the lower end of the back rest and the top of the front board,means mounting the foldable sections to swing from a seat position witha portion of the sections behind and below the lower end of the backrest to swing the front end of the folding structure upwardly andrearwardly within the frame with the portion from behind and below thelower end of the back rest to a position above and clear of the top ofthe front board, and means for locking the connected sections in acompact folded position for moving them from a position within the frameto an intermediate stage in which the seat is partially inverted withinthe frame above the seat position and said means for locking theconnectedsections being released by engaging and moving one of thesections forwardly from the frame in a direc tion reverse to thedirection of the said swinging movement to move the connected sectionsforwardly into alignment and over and clear from contact with the top ofthe front board into a bed position with one of the sections inverted inthe seat position.

12. In convertible furniture in accordance with claim 11, a roller atthe top of the inner side of the front board to engage and guide theconnected sections in their movement into and out of the frame toprevent engagement with the top of the front board.

13. In convertible furniture in accordance with claim 11, the said meansfor locking the folding sections together comprising legs pivoted tointermediate and outer sections of the folded structure and a lockinglinkage connecting the legs to fold against the sections automaticallyand to unfold therefrom as the folding sections are moved into and outof the frame, and roller means at the top of the front board at theinside thereof for engaging and guiding the legs and their foldingstructures out of contact with the top of the front board.

14. In convertible furniture in accordance with claim 11, the meansmounting the sectional folding structure for swinging movement in theframe, comprising'a member pivoted at one end in the side of the frameat a position behind the lower end of the back rest and above the normallevel of the seat in the seat position and the other end of the memberbeing pivotally connected intermediate the front and rear at the side ofthe seat section, the seat section having a mounting member extendingupwardly and rearwardly in seat position to a point below and behind thelower end of the back rest and above the seat position, and anothermounting member pivotally connected at one end to the said upper end ofthe mounting member and the other end pivoted to the frame near thebottom thereof and forwardly in the frame, the action of these mountingmembers being to rock the folded sections forwardly when the seatsection is raised at the front thereof, those portions of the foldingsections behind and below the back rest moving forwardly and upwardly inan. endwise movement of the frame until the folded section is partiallyinverted in a position to which it is raised by the said pivotallyconnected mounting members.

15. In convertible furniture having a restricted space between a fixedfront board and the bottom of a forwardly and downwardly extending backrest, the method lower end of the back rest to an intermediate setposition between the back rest and the front board and free from contactwith both of them, and unfolding the sections from their set position bymoving the outer section forwardly in a reverse direction to theswinging move ment over the top of the front board until the sectionsare in alignment with one of the sections inverted in the seat position.

16. In convertible furniture having a rigid frame with a fixed frontboard extending upwardly across the front of the frame, a plurality ofconnected seat and bed sections foldable into a hollow angularstructure, the seat section forming a seat surface at the front of theframe when the sections are folded, the other connected sections foldingbelow and behind the seat section in the frame, means mounting the seatsection in the frame for swinging it and the other sections upwardlytogether to a predetermined set position and to invert the seat sectionabove the frame when the other sections are swung forwardly over andclear of the front board into alignment in front of the frame, andreleasable stop means connected to the seat section and said mountingmeans for releasably holding the folded sections together in thepredetermined set position.

17. In convertible furniture in accordance with claim 16, the stop meanscomprising a pivoted latch attached to the seat section, and a detentfixed to said mounting means, the stop means being manually releasableto continue the movement of the connected sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS863,365 Deimel Aug. 13, 1907 1,270,743 Kindel June 25, 1918 2,007,988Thomas July 16, 1935

